Historically, Protestants have never been united in any substantial sense. George Aldhizer, who identifies as a Reformed Christian, wrote in a recent article ,. It seems clear that neither ecumenism nor the Church ekklesia can be based on a kind of abstract essentialism. The Church is one body because of the One Body into which we were baptized and of which we partake 1 Corinthians ; 1 Corinthians That is, the Church is a concrete reality that exists in the world, though She is not of the world, where She physically receives as members those who are baptized into Her Fold.
This Church cannot be divided into various sects, nor can she be overcome corrupted by the secularism of the world cf. Matthew Historically, and even today, to safeguard this unity, the Church has placed outside of Her Fold those who, even after being confronted by a council of the Church, willfully propound false teachings cf. Matthew ;.
Such was the case with Arius and countless others who propounded false teachings. Arius refused to accept the admonishment of the Church at the council of Nicaea and so he was excommunicated 2 , or excommunicated himself in a sense by willfully placing himself outside of the Church. But Arius, among others, continued to practice their mutated form of Christianity, deceiving many.
Cyprian deals with this in one of his letters letter He says no Matthew With such an answer echoed in various others throughout history, this is an issue we must take seriously. But with a radical disinterest in the church of history and a total rejection of the sacraments by a portion of Evangelicalism today a re-hashing in part of the ancient gnostic heresy , how do we speak about this issue?
I suppose the question comes down to, as Joseph Green points out in a recent article , what is the standard of measure? It is this method, however, that led to the tens of thousands of Protestant denominations in existence today. Still, to be logically consistent with s ola scriptura , as Joseph points out, it would seem that sermons should only consist of scripture reading without any attempt at explanation on the part of the pastor.
Instead, we are left with tens of thousands opposing interpretations of scripture in the Protestant world. So, with everyone disagreeing on what scripture actually means, how do you know what it means? Instead of answering the original question, I want to pose another. How do you know you are in the church of the Apostles? How do you know you believe what the Apostles believed? How do you know what you believe about God is true? Such questions are frightening when you begin to think about them.
Do I believe what I believe because of when and where I was born in history? After all, the heart is deceitful above all things Jeremiah Such questions plagued me prior to our conversion to Orthodoxy. A writer 3 in the fifth century offers some wise advice: you can know what you believe is true if it can be found in antiquity and if it is view held universally regardless of time period or place. If there is some contention on these two points, he writes that we must look for a consensus among people who lived the faith, not just philosophized.
These three rules, Antiquity, Universality, and Consensus, can be helpful for us in our journey today. So, did the majority of Christians throughout time agree upon dogmas that reflect a kind of Protestantism or Orthodoxy and Catholicism? Any reader of Church history will be able to answer readily. Josiah Trenham in his latest book, Rock and Sand. There were only Orthodox and heretics.
Post 16th century Christendom looks far different. Early in the second century, a disciple of the Apostle John named Ignatius tells us that where the bishop is, there is the Church Smyrnaeans , 8. And that there is one Eucharist and one Altar Philadelphians , 4 , and anyone outside of this Altar the Church is deprived of the Bread of God Ephesians , 5. And this is most abundant proof that there is one and the same vivifying faith, which has been preserved in the Church from the apostles until now, and handed down in truth.
After all, it is the Church that scripture proclaims to be the pillar and ground of truth 1 Timothy So how do you know what you believe about God is true? How do you know you are in the Church of the apostles?
According to the witness of scripture and history, we must receive the faith and not turn aside from it; and we receive it from the unbroken succession of the Apostles in the Church. Scripture constantly talks about holding on to that which we received.
Paul exhorts us, over and over again, to hold on to the traditions delivered to us 1 Corinthians whether by word or epistle 2 Thessalonians Being in the Church and learning from the Church is the standard according to scripture and antiquity—a standard that is reaffirmed over and over again throughout history. True knowledge is [that which consists in] the doctrine of the apostles , and the ancient constitution of the Church throughout all the world, and the distinctive manifestation of the body of Christ according to the successions of the bishops , by which they have handed down that Church which exists in every place, and has come even unto us, being guarded and preserved without any forging of Scriptures, by a very complete system of doctrine, and neither receiving addition nor [suffering] curtailment [in the truths which she believes]; and [it consists in] reading [the word of God] without falsification, and a lawful and diligent exposition in harmony with the Scriptures , both without danger and without blasphemy ; and [above all, it consists in] the pre-eminent gift of love , which is more precious than knowledge , more glorious than prophecy , and which excels all the other gifts [of God].
For all these have fallen from the truth. Protestants remain genuine Christians, who also have various heretical elements. One who denies that denies both those councils. An anti-Protestantism that would deny Christian status to our separated brethren, is anti-Trent and radically against the Mind of the Church and true ecumenism. It remains true, as always, that if a Protestant truly knows that Catholicism is true and refuses to accept it, he is in danger of damnation.
Only God knows all those factors. Our job is to share and defend what we know as Catholics. God takes care of grace and all the rest. Here are some solid definitions from Fr. John A. Hardon, S. Commonly refers to a doctrinal belief held in opposition to the recognized standards of an established system of thought.
Theologically it means an opinion at variance with the authorized teachings of any church, notably the Christian, and especially when this promotes separation from the main body of faithful believers.
In the Roman Catholic Church, heresy has a very specific meaning. Anyone who, after receiving baptism, while remaining nominally a Christian, pertinaciously denies or doubts any of the truths that must be believed with divine and Catholic faith is considered a heretic. Accordingly four elements must be verified to constitute formal heresy; previous valid baptism, which need not have been in the Catholic Church; external profession of still being a Christian, otherwise a person becomes an apostate; outright denial or positive doubt regarding a truth that the Catholic Church has actually proposed as revealed by God; and the disbelief must be morally culpable, where a nominal Christian refuses to accept what he knows is a doctrinal imperative.
Objectively, therefore, to become a heretic in the strict canonical sense and be excommunicated from the faithful, one must deny or question a truth that is taught not merely on the authority of the Church but on the word of God revealed in the Scriptures or sacred tradition. Subjectively a person must recognize his obligation to believe. If he acts in good faith, as with most persons brought up in non-Catholic surroundings, the heresy is only material and implies neither guilt nor sin against faith.
Latin haeresis , from the Greek hairesis , a taking, choice, sect, heresy. A person professing heresy. Ecclesiastical law distinguishes between a formal heretic, as one who is sinfully culpable, and a material heretic, who is not morally guilty for professing what may be objectively heretical doctrine.
The total rejection by a baptized person of the Christian faith he once professed. Latin apostasia , falling away or separation from God; from Greek apostasis , revolt, literally, a standing-off. The complete abandonment of the Christian religion and not merely a denial of some article of the creed. Since apostolic times, it was classified among the major crimes, along with murder and adultery, whose remission in the sacrament of penance carried severe censures and, among certain rigorists, even remission of the sin was denied.
Cyprian d. Under the Christian Roman Empire, apostates were punished by deprivation of civil rights, including the power to bequeath or inherit property. During the late Middle Ages, Christian who apostatized were subject to trial and punishment by the Inquisition. The code of canon law of declared that apostates from the faith as also heretics and schismatics incur ipso facto excommunication, are deprived, after warning, of any benefice, dignity, pension, office, or any position they may have in the Church, and are declared under infamy.
But if Christ has done everything, if justification is by grace, without contributory works; it is received by faith's empty hands — then assurance, even "full assurance" is possible for every believer. No wonder Bellarmine thought full, free, unfettered grace was dangerous!
No wonder the Reformers loved the letter to the Hebrews! This is why, as the author of Hebrews pauses for breath at the climax of his exposition of Christ's work Heb. He then urges us to "draw near … in full assurance of faith" Heb.
We do not need to re-read the whole letter to see the logical power of his "therefore. Christ has once-for-all become the sacrifice for our sins, and has been raised and vindicated in the power of an indestructible life as our representative priest. By faith in Him, we are as righteous before the throne of God as He is righteous. For we are justified in His righteousness, His justification alone is ours! And we can no more lose this justification than He can fall from heaven.
Thus our justification does not need to be completed any more than does Christ's! With this in view, the author says, "by one offering He has perfected for all time those who come to God by him" Heb. The reason we can stand before God in full assurance is because we now experience our "hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and … bodies washed with pure water" Heb.
Enjoying this assurance leads to four things: First, an unwavering faithfulness to our confession of faith in Jesus Christ alone as our hope v. It is the good tree that produces good fruit, not the other way round. We are not saved by works; we are saved for works. In fact we are God's workmanship at work Eph. Thus, rather than lead to a life of moral and spiritual indifference, the once-for-all work of Jesus Christ and the full-assurance faith it produces, provides believers with the most powerful impetus to live for God's glory and pleasure.
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